Before you decide to purchase a subscription, if you haven't already, you should check out www.consumersearch.com. They summarize all of the available reviews from consumer reports, and other professional sources (like cnet, pc magazine, cooks.com, etc., depending on the type of product). They'll even take into consideration user review (like Amazon's), and the reviews are kept up to date. After I started using consumer search I cancelled my consumer reports subscription because it just was not as comprehensive in comparison. HTH.

Online edition is actally much better than print. Paper edition is condensed probably because of space limitaions. If you are lucky, you can get access CR online via your local library's website. Unfortunately, I suspect this does not work for most people.

Periodically (no pun intended), Ebates offers 50% CashBack on all purchases at Magazines.com. Unfortunately it only happens once/twice a year in my experience, and they just did it within the last month or so. If you can catch that deal the next time it rolls around, it cuts the usual cost in half. Assuming you are willing to wait for that deal, you could set up a topic alert here at FW so you don't miss it.

I like Consumer Reports, although annoys me that I have to have a separate subscription to access online content.

jblank001

New Member

posted: Jan. 29, 2011 @ 9:53p

My renewal notice says 5 yrs for $98. Thats a deal. John B

bippie

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Jan. 30, 2011 @ 5:59a

CR is a non-profit organization. Because they don't run paid advertising, they have no incentive to almost-giveaway subscription pricing. Go ahead and subscribe to support their good work. An online subscription is also a good option. I have both...print for the enjoyment of reading the magazine and online for research. I've saved my costs many times over thanks to CR research.

LanceMan

Ancient Member

posted: Jan. 30, 2011 @ 9:00a

I've looked at them for many years, and cheapest rates that I recall is around $19/yr = don't see discounts below that threshold as they don't have much incentive to go cheaper.

FunnyStuff said: Online edition is actally much better than print. Paper edition is condensed probably because of space limitaions. If you are lucky, you can get access CR online via your local library's website. Unfortunately, I suspect this does not work for most people.I started with a paper subscription but decided to go for online only. They kept sending me promotions to get the paper version again but I hate that the cleanup work when the magazines pile up. It is also much easier to search for information online. You also get access to older issues onlinewhile you only have your monthly issues with a regular subscription. The drawback of the online version is that older data/ratings may have been replaced but overall I think it's quite sufficient.I think the $26 online subscription is a good deal. (about $2.2 a month...)

Also, do not rely on CR ratings alone to make your purchase decisions. Check Amazon.com ratings, too.Make sure you check their rating methodogy and consider whether the advantages/disadvantages are important to you and how much you are willing to pay. They frequently rate a mediocre product superior to a great product just because it's a lot cheaper..

Andrew14302

Member

posted: Jan. 30, 2011 @ 9:23a

dandan50 said: The more I read consumer reports from the local library, the more I see value in it. I'd like to subscribe, but its not one of those you can find super cheap.

Anyone have a cheaper place to get an in-print subscription? Perhaps one of these below has an online coupon that brings the price down?

DiscountPress.com: $17.95

Am I missing something....says $29 on the website?

aarzi

Graceful Member

posted: Jan. 30, 2011 @ 10:49a

Andrew14302 said: Am I missing something....says $29 on the website?Yes.

bippie said: I have both...print for the enjoyment of reading the magazine and online for research. Yeah, nothing beats a print publication when you're sitting on the throne. A laptop just doesn't cut it.

FunnyStuff said: Online edition is actally much better than print. Paper edition is condensed probably because of space limitaions. If you are lucky, you can get access CR online via your local library's website. Unfortunately, I suspect this does not work for most people.

Be sure to ask a reference librarian at your local library about online access to CR. I've used several libraries where it was possible to get online access to CR but it was buried on the library's website.

JonesBeach

Senior Member - 5K

posted: Jan. 31, 2011 @ 2:33a

View said: Also, do not rely on CR ratings alone to make your purchase decisions. Check Amazon.com ratings, too.Make sure you check their rating methodogy and consider whether the advantages/disadvantages are important to you and how much you are willing to pay. They frequently rate a mediocre product superior to a great product just because it's a lot cheaper..

I'm always a bit torn about CR ratings. On one hand, I generally have a certain level of contempt for people who can't screw in a light bulb but who let their lives be run by CR (i.e. the "Why did you buy that $2000 washing machine that is 3 times bigger than you needed? Oh, Consumer Reports told me to"). And sometimes CR ends up costing me money: I needed a car battery the other day and could have bought one for $75 at Advance Auto Parts but ended up getting one with identical specs from Autozone instead that cost $110 because the Autozone battery had a substantially better CR rating; my hope is that it will perform better over the long haul and last longer. Regarding the mediocre products getting higher ratings because they're cheaper, I think that all boils down to bang for the buck; it's obviously up to the reader (assuming the reader is capable) of making an informed decision about whether the cheaper product is, in fact, the right one to buy.

I agree with the comment about Amazon ratings. Again, it all depends on the reader's ability to weed out ratings from malcontents and people who have no idea what they're talking about. For example, I read an Amazon review recently where somebody had panned a TV because he'd bought it in the USA, shipped it to Asia (because the price was considerably lower in the USA) and then discovered that the set wouldn't pick up stations properly in the country to which he'd shipped it because TV signals there are broadcast differently. That's hardly the fault of the TV.

Actually, Consumer Reports typically does not rank a mediocre product higher because of price. They usually rank on performance based on what they think is most important for an item. However, sometimes they just group items in general terms. People have to read what the rankings mean. Sadly, people often do not bother. Whether you think their ratings are accurate or not is another discussion.

Within the ratings they will list a few items that are Recommended or Best Buy. Recommended are usually the higher ranked items. A Best Buy is usually something that is a relatively high ranked, yet has a good price.

PCWorld does/did rank mediocre products higher if they have a lower price. I personally never liked that idea.

Mickie3

Ancient Member

posted: Jan. 31, 2011 @ 5:37a

JonesBeach said: View said: Also, do not rely on CR ratings alone to make your purchase decisions. Check Amazon.com ratings, too.Make sure you check their rating methodogy and consider whether the advantages/disadvantages are important to you and how much you are willing to pay. They frequently rate a mediocre product superior to a great product just because it's a lot cheaper..

I'm always a bit torn about CR ratings. On one hand, I generally have a certain level of contempt for people who can't screw in a light bulb but who let their lives be run by CR (i.e. the "Why did you buy that $2000 washing machine that is 3 times bigger than you needed? Oh, Consumer Reports told me to"). And sometimes CR ends up costing me money: I needed a car battery the other day and could have bought one for $75 at Advance Auto Parts but ended up getting one with identical specs from Autozone instead that cost $110 because the Autozone battery had a substantially better CR rating; my hope is that it will perform better over the long haul and last longer. Regarding the mediocre products getting higher ratings because they're cheaper, I think that all boils down to bang for the buck; it's obviously up to the reader (assuming the reader is capable) of making an informed decision about whether the cheaper product is, in fact, the right one to buy.

I agree with the comment about Amazon ratings. Again, it all depends on the reader's ability to weed out ratings from malcontents and people who have no idea what they're talking about. For example, I read an Amazon review recently where somebody had panned a TV because he'd bought it in the USA, shipped it to Asia (because the price was considerably lower in the USA) and then discovered that the set wouldn't pick up stations properly in the country to which he'd shipped it because TV signals there are broadcast differently. That's hardly the fault of the TV.

You have to be careful with Amazon ratings due to them being laced with paid reviewers for companies as well. I have seen some rather glowing reviews that I knew were really abysmal products and the only way the reviews could have been written was to be placed there by shills for the product. There is no way on Amazon to know if someone actually has even attempted to use a product as well.

Mickie3 said: You have to be careful with Amazon ratings due to them being laced with paid reviewers for companies as well. I have seen some rather glowing reviews that I knew were really abysmal products and the only way the reviews could have been written was to be placed there by shills for the product. There is no way on Amazon to know if someone actually has even attempted to use a product as well. I totally agree. I always read the actual contents of the reviews at Amazon.com or consumerreports.org and ignore baseless complaints and 5 star recommendations that seem to be faked. I bought quite a few items that are not even "recommended" by Consumer Reports yet have good performance on their ratings chart in the areas I care. They actually meet my requirements better... The web site subscription also gives you access to reader comments on the items CR reviewed. That's what you don't get from a regular subscription. In my opinion the online version offers much better value.

satchelsofgold

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Feb. 1, 2011 @ 4:02p

Amazon is running a promotion for the month of February: spend $20 or more in their magazines store and you'll get a $10 Amazon promotional code (good on anything sold by Amazon--note I said by Amazon, not on Amazon) by e-mail within 10 days of your purchase.

This effectively makes a one-year subscription $19, if there's something else you want from Amazon, and if you wouldn't be buying $20 in magazines otherwise.

dandan50

Senior Member

posted: Feb. 4, 2011 @ 1:55p

JonesBeach said: FunnyStuff said: Online edition is actally much better than print. Paper edition is condensed probably because of space limitaions. If you are lucky, you can get access CR online via your local library's website. Unfortunately, I suspect this does not work for most people.

Be sure to ask a reference librarian at your local library about online access to CR. I've used several libraries where it was possible to get online access to CR but it was buried on the library's website.

You're right...we have free access to online searches via our library. Honestly I just wanted to peruse the print edition for interesting articles. (I'll still use the online searches for major shopping decisions.

dandan50

Senior Member

posted: Feb. 4, 2011 @ 1:57p

satchelsofgold said: Amazon is running a promotion for the month of February: spend $20 or more in their magazines store and you'll get a $10 Amazon promotional code (good on anything sold by Amazon--note I said by Amazon, not on Amazon) by e-mail within 10 days of your purchase.

Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.

Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.

FatWallet coupons help you save more when shopping online. Use our Coupons Search to browse coupons and offers from thousands of stores, gathered into one convenient location.

Forums
As part of our FatWallet Community, you can share deals with almost a million shoppers in our forums. Forum content is generated by consumers for consumers. Share deals, money-saving tips, and more. It's FREE, fun, and addicting.

Support
Our customer experience team is here around the clock - real people ready to assist.